A Cat's Smile
by CheshireCat612
Summary: Peter Pan/OC - Spoilers to season 1! What if Pan fell in love with a girl? ...Well what if she was taken from him by Rumple, and somehow during the curse she remembers everything? What will happen when she doesn't want to remember? Find out in A Cat's Smile. Starts on the pilot of season one
1. Prologue

Peter Pan/OC - Spoilers to season 1!What if Pan fell in love with a girl? ...Well what if she was taken from him by Rumple, and somehow even after the curse she remembers everything. What will happen when she doesn't want to remember? And what will happen when everyone remembers who/what she really is? Find out in A Cat's Smile.~Starts on the pilot of season one~

Name: Cheshire

Status: Alive

Species: Shape-shifter

Powers: Magic (Dark and Light)

Gender: Female

Hair Color: Blue

Eye Color: Blue + green

Relatives: Unknown

History before the First Curse: Unknown


	2. New Beginnings

Chapter 1: The Beginning

**Once Upon A Time**

**There was an enchanted forest filled with**

**all the classic characters we know.**

**Or think we know.**

**One day they found themselves**

**trapped in a place where all their**

**happy endings were stolen.**

**Our World.**

**This is how it happened…**

_A prince with a red cloak, dark brown hair, and scruff on his face rode fast down a long land bridge. His grey speckled horse galloped, as the Prince Charming pushed the horse's limits. A trail of blue wisps followed a young pale girl with dark blue hair that faded into a sea green, as she constantly disappeared for a few seconds before appearing a few yards ahead. When they finally reached the edge of the forest, they continued on and pushed themselves harder._

_Branches snapped under the horse's hooves and the girl, Cheshire, now had cuts anywhere that her mask and hood didn't cover. The prince only urged his horse to go faster as they stormed through the magical forest. It soon started snowing, just as they came into the view of 7 dwarfs and a glass casket. Charming quickly dismounted and rushed towards the casket as Cheshire walked over to the horse and kissed its forehead as both she and it breathed heavily, her magic having been worn down from all of her latest teleportation. She turned around swiftly as she heard,_

"_You're too late."_

_One of the dwarves had spoken up. Charming shook his head after the dwarfs moved away giving him a perfect view of the beautiful princess's casket which had been gracefully carved into a tree trunk with a elegant lid of glass and wood._

"_No... NO!" Charming shouted in denial as he ran up to the coffin, his deep red cloak swishing behind him._

_Cheshire covered her mouth with a black gloved hand. As tears started to well up in her eyes, she approached the coffin. The princess in the glass case, Snow White, looked completely at peace with her black hair spread out. In fact, she looked as though she was simply sleeping. '_I have failed…' _The young one thought to herself._

"_Open it." Charming softly demanded, staring at Snow._

"_I'm sorry. She's gone." Grumpy said through gritted teeth, glaring at the desperate prince._

"_Please at least... let me say goodbye." Charming pleaded with a tear running down his face._

_Grumpy looked at Cheshire for permission and seeing her nod, he and the other dwarves carefully lifted the glass lid of the coffin. Charming slowly leaned down and gently kissed Snow. However, as soon as he did a wave of light with a transparent rainbow of lights came off of them, causing the land to light up with sun._

"_You found me." Snow said in a relieved yet joyful voice, as she opens her eyes._

"_Did you ever doubt I would?" Charming questioned playfully._

"_Truthfully, the glass coffin gave me pause." She replied slightly panting, as she sat up._

"_Well, you never need to worry. I will always find you." Charming said._

"_Do you promise?" Snow asked._

"_I do." Charming stated._

"_And do you, Snow White, promise to take this man to be your husband and love him for all eternity?" The priest asked._

"_I do." She replied, happily as she smiled at her groom._

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife." The priest stated._

_Everyone started cheering, even Grumpy and Cheshire were clapping and smiling, although Cheshire just really wanted her normal get-up back instead of the blue and grey floor length dress and makeup Snow had made her wear. However, just as Snow and Charming were about to kiss, the main doors flew open revealing The Evil Queen._

"_Sorry I'm late." She said smugly._

_Two guards tried to stop her, but she simply flicked them to the side. Luckily, Snow let Cheshire keep her bow and arrows with her. So the shapeshifter stepped in front of the newly-weds with an arrow notched and ready to fire._

"_Run! It's the queen!" One of the dwarves yelled._

"_She's not queen anymore," Snow declared as she grabbed Charming's sword and pointed it at the queen. "She's nothing more than an evil witch."_

"_No, no, no. Don't stop to her level. There's no need." Charming, or rather David as Cheshire and Snow knew him, said trying to calm her down and reclaiming his sword from Snow's hands._

"_You're wasting your time. You've already lost, and I will not let you ruin this wedding." He continued._

"_Oh, I haven't come here to ruin anything. On the contrary, dear. I've come to give you a gift." Regina replied with a fake sweetness._

"_We want nothing from you!" Snow spat, as she held onto David's arm._

"_But you shall have it! My gift to you… is this happy, happy day. For tomorrow my real work begins. You've made your vows, now I make mine. Soon everything you love, everything all of you love will be taken from you forever. For out of your suffering, will rise my victory. I shall destroy your happiness, if it is the last thing I do." The Queen declared before, she turned around and started to walk away._

"_Hey!" Right as Charming said that Cheshire left her arrow fly, causing it to imbed itself in the Queen's shoulder. However, Charming's sword was too late and the queen disappeared in a cloud of black smoke._

_Charming grabbed Snow and pulled her into a hug, as she stared at the door worried. __However Cheshire was simply staring at the place where her arrow should have hit thinking, 'She's lucky I missed her heart'._


	3. Pilot

Katrina's POV:

Heading home from searching the forest, I start to think about Neverland. The trees and nature here are nothing compared to the forests there. I can still remember the parties that would take place in the dead of night. Dancing around the fire, Peter's pipes in the background, all while everything else is a complete blur. The stars would shine brightly above us with the only light from the fire and the moon to illuminate the area. My mind then slips from the memory as I remember why I was even in the forest. Henry had gone missing yesterday after school, and I haven't slept since Regina called me saying that he never came home from school. However, Graham said he had to be missing 24 hours first, because he could have been playing in the forest or down by the beach. _Yeah right, I would have found him by now._ Shaking my head, I As I neared the non-working clock tower I heard,

"Why doesn't everyone just leave?"

"They can't, if they try bad things happen!" _Henry, speak of the devil._

I speed up my pace and as I round the corner, I see Henry and a random blond woman talking in the middle of an abandoned intersection. I rush over to him instantly.

"Henry, what are you doing out here? Is everything alright?" I question him rapidly, taking the lady next to him by surprise. Probably my sudden arrival or maybe it was my British accent.

"I'm fine, Kat." He says in an almost bored/fed up tone, causing me to lightly smack him upside the head.

"Well, in that case, Regina almost cut off my head. Where have you been?" I demand in a tone that's more concerned than annoyed.

Then, I finally turned my attention to the blond woman.

"Who is this?" I ask sharply.

"Just someone trying to give him a ride home." She manages to reply before Henry spoke up.

"Oh, she's my mom, her name is Emma." Henry bluntly interrupts.

"Oh, I see. I'm Katrina Blanchard." I said faking a small smile for friendliness sake.

"Do you know where he lives?" Emma asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"Oh yeah, of course, right up on Mifflin Street. The mayor's house is the biggest one on the block" I responded briefly, I mean I can only act super nice for so long, however she clearly didn't care.

"You're the mayor's kid?" Emma asks looking down at Henry, meaning he clearly hadn't told her.

"Uh, maybe." He glances up at her nervously.

Just in time to make the situation more awkward, Archie came along with Pongo.

"Hi, Henry, Katrina. Where were you today? You missed our session." Archie questioned, knowing that if I was there and calm then, Henry was fine.

"Oh, well…" Henry starts to speak up, before I cut him off.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Hopper. I forgot to tell you, I took Henry on a fieldtrip to see one of my best friends, Emma." I replied for Henry gesturing to the woman awkwardly standing there.

"Oh?" Archie questions suspiciously.

"Yeah, I took him up to her house for a visit and when she heard more about the town from Henry, she wanted to come see the place herself. I'm on my way to Granny's B&amp;B now to get her set up with a room." I explain smiling and playing it off like this is nothing.

"Ah, well just remember what I told you about lying in our last session. Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." _A) Very dramatic, so points to you for that and B) If only you knew_, I think as I roll my eyes.

"Okayyy," Emma interrupts, looking even more uncomfortable than before, if that's even possible. "I should probably get him home."

"Yeah, once we drop off Henry, I'll show to the B&amp;B. It's been a long drive, but get home safely, Archie." I move to get into the car as Archie walks away, but as soon as he rounds the corner, I step away from the car.

"He lives on Mifflin Street, I'll call Regina and tell her that you're dropping him off. I'll leave it up to you and him to explain why he was with you. Granny's is right there and it's open 24/7." I state looking at the blonde adult. "And you, Henry, next time you decide to go on a road trip either tell me where you're going so in case of emergency I can find or tell me where you want to go and I'll drive you there, I have my motorcycle and you know that I'll do anything for. Now, I gotta get back to Mary-Margaret's soon or she'll kill me. Stay safe and be careful, Henry. Goodnight to both of you." I say before kissing Henry's head, curtly nodding to Emma, and walking towards Mary Margaret's loft.

**Third Person POV***

"I'm not crazy." Henry states looking up at his birth mother

"I didn't say that, just neither of them doesn't seem cursed to me. Maybe Archie is just trying to help you." Emma responds trying to reason with Henry.

"He's the one that needs help because he doesn't know." Henry pleads.

"That he's a fairytale character?" Emma questions doubtfully.

"None of them do. They don't know who they are." Henry reasons.

"Convenient, all right I'll play. Who were they supposed to be?" Emma asks in a teasing manner.

"Archie is Jiminy Cricket, and I'm not sure who Katrina is, because her section of the book was cut out." Henry states, as he goes to get into the passenger seat of the small yellow car.

"Right, the lying thing, I thought your nose grew a little bit." Emma teases.

"I'm not Pinocchio." Henry replies, sounding a little upset.

"Of course, you're not, that would be ridiculous." Emma mumbles to herself, as she got into her car.

\- Start Flashback -

"_I say we fight!" Charming shouted as he slammed his fist down on the table, where he sat next to Snow and Cheshire._

"_Fighting is a bad idea." Grumpy said._

"_Giving into one's dark side never accomplishes anything." Jiminy spoke up, in a soft tone._

"_And how many wars has a clear conscience won?" Cheshire spat at the small bug, causing Snow to glare at her._

"_I agree, we need to take the Queen out before she can inflict her curse." Charming/David pronounced._

"_But can we trust Rumpelstiltskin?" Doc questioned._

"_I've sent my men into the forest, the animals are abuzz with the queen's plan." David said leaning his hands on the table._

"_It's true." Cheshire agreed, making everyone look at her questionably. "The robins outside my window are very chatty." She replied rubbing her temples, irritated._

"_This is going to happen unless we do something." David said sternly._

"_There's no point, the future is written." Snow interrupted, tired and weak._

"_No, I refuse to believe that, good can't just lose." Charming stated._

"_We can." Snow murmured._

"_No." David said in a soft voice, kneeling next to Snow. "No, not as long as we have each other. If you believe him about the curse, then you must believe him about our child, she will be the savior."_

"_He's right," Cheshire said with her eyes closed, focusing on the energy the child was giving off. "She will be strong, and she will come back for us." Cheshire opened her eyes which were now like a cat's._

"_Your child, Snow, will save us all."_

_Just then, the doors opened and many knights came in pulling the trunk of a tree, with the Blue Fairy flying beside it._

"_What the hell is this?" David questioned them._

"_This is our only hope of saving that child." The Blue Fairy spoke softly as she flew in front of Charming and Snow._

"_A tree?! Our fate rest on a tree?!" Grumpy yelled, before looking back to Charming. "Let's get back to the fighting thing."_

"_The tree is enchanted. If fashioned into a vessel it can ward off any curse. Geppetto, can you build such a thing?" The blue fairy asked, looking over at Geppetto and his son, Pinocchio, who was smoothing the back of a wooden whale down._

"_Me and my boy, we can do it." Geppetto said happily while patting Pinocchio's hat/head._

"_This will work. But, we all must have faith." The blue fairy stated causing Snow to reach over and grab James's hand in a happy moment of awe._

"_What's the price?" Cheshire asked standing up, and directing everyone's attention to her. "All magic comes with a price, I know that better than anyone. So. What. Is. The. Price?"_

"_The catch is that the enchantment is indeed powerful, but all power has its limits and this tree can protect only one." The Blue Fairy said nervously, causing Charming to look down at Snow worried._

_\- _Flashback End -

-3rd person-

"Pleaseee don't take me back there." Henry whines as Emma opens the gate.

"I have to, I'm sure your parents are worried sick about you." Emma replies as she quickly walks up the pathway in front of the mayor's house.

"I don't even have parents, I just have a mom and she's evil!" Henry says raising his voice.

"Evil? That's a bit extreme isn't it?" Emma questions.

"She is, she doesn't love me, she only pretends to." Henry mumbles.

"Kid, I'm sure that's not true." Emma says softly bending down to his height.

"Henry!" A black haired woman, the mayor, rushes down the path, eyes puffy and red from crying. She embraces him tightly, before pulling him away and checking for any clearly visable injuries.

"Are you okay?!" She demands, her voice wobbly and hair a mess. "Where have you been?"

"What happened?" The mayor, or otherwise known as Regina, stood up asking Emma.

"I found my real mom!" Henry spits at Regina, in a voice full of hate, before running up through the front door and into the house.

There was an awkward silence as Regina stared at Emma in disbelief.

"Your Henry's birth mother?" Regina asks shocked.

"Hi." Emma says timidly.

"I'll just check on the lad, and make sure he's alright." The sheriff, Graham, commented before awkwardly backing up into the house.

"How would you like a glass of the best apple cider you've ever tasted?" Regina questioned calmly with a small smile.

"Got anything stronger?"

++++In the house++++

"How did he find me?" Emma questions Regina.

"I have no idea." Regina responds pre-occupied with pouring the alcoholic drinks. "When I adopted him he was only 3 weeks old. Records were sealed, I was told the birth mother didn't want to have any contact.

"You were told right." Emma replies looking around curiously.

"And the father?"

"There was one."

"Do I need to be worried about him?"

"Nope, he doesn't even know."

"Do I need to be worried about you Miss. Swan?"

"Absolutely not."

"Well Madame Mayor, you can relax." Graham speaks up as he walks down the stairs. "Other than being a tired little boy, Henry is fine."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Regina acknowledges Graham sweetly.

Graham nods at the two woman and heads for the door.

"I'm sorry he dragged you out of your busy life." Regina says walking to her library/study room. "I really don't know what gotten into him."

"Kid's having a rough time, it happens." Emma replies from experience.

"You need to understand that ever since I've become Mayor, balancing everything has just been tricky. You have a job, I assume?" Regina inquires, straightening the clock on the mantle.

"I keep busy." Emma replies, shrugging.

"Imagine having another one on top of it." Regina continued. "That's being a single mom. So, I push forward and with Katrina's help it works. Am I strict? I suppose. But I do it for his own good. I want Henry to excel in life, I don't think that makes me evil, do you?"

"I'm sure he's just saying that because of the fairytale thing." Emma answered taking a sip of her drink.

"What fairytale thing?"

"Oh, you know his book. How he thinks everyone is a cartoon character from it. Like his shrink is Jiminy Cricket."

"I'm sorry, I really don't know what you're talking about."

"You know what it's none of my business. He's your kid. And I really should be heading back."

"Of course."

Emma was driving down in road in the rain, when she looked over to her passenger seat only to see Henry's book.

"Sneaky kid."

She looked back up at the road only to see a light grey wolf in the middle of the road, it's hazel eyes calm as he stared at her. Emma swerved to avoid the wolf, her car slid into the 'Welcome to Storybrooke' sign, knocking her out cold. A gentle breeze flowed through the car door, which popped open during the crash, flipping the pages in Henry's book, Once Upon A Time. Starting with a picture of flying monkeys then the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland, and finally settling on a picture of Geppetto and Pinocchio making the vessel which would save the entire Enchanted forest.

-Flashback Start-

_Geppetto held half the door to the tree trunk, before going back to the workbench where Pinocchio is smoothing the other door. Snow looked outside from her balcony, at the tower where the wood workshop was. She turned and walked into the bedroom she shared with David._

"_I don't want to do this." Snow said pleadingly._

"_It has to be you." David replied._

"_I'm not leaving you." Snow stated, her voice cracking as she hurried over to David._

"_It's the only way." He begged, hugging her to his chest. "You go in there and you'll be safe from the curse."_

"_He said it would be on her 28__th_ _birthday!" She raised her voice as she responded._

"_What's 28 years, when you have eternal love?" David said softly, while Snow cried. "I have faith. You will save me, as I did you."_

_They kissed passionately, but briefly, as all of a sudden Snow grabbed her stomach._

"_What's wrong?!" David asked concerned._

"_The baby," Snow whispered before her voice became strained. "She's coming."_

_-On the wall surrounding the castle—_

_Grumpy took a swig from his bottle of whiskey, before looking back down at the valley in front of them. Standing up in a hurry, Grumpy start yelling at Sleepy to get up. He quickly rushed over to the bell at his station and started to ring it,_

"_The curse! It's here!"_

_-End of flashback-_

Katrina's POV

I sit in the corner of Mary-Margret's, or Mary as I prefer to call her, classroom watching her teach her class about the construction of birdhouses. I had already made my birdhouse from driftwood that I had found a couple of days ago, and it was on Mary's desk as a gift, which seemed fitting as she was a "teacher". I put my blue beats headphones on and began listening to 'The Hanging Tree' by Jennifer Lawrence. Only looking up from my sketchbook when I heard the bell ring. At the same time as the bell, Regina storms into the room, heading straight past me towards Mary. I take off my headphones, and listen up.

"Miss. Mills, What are you doing here?" I hear Mary ask Regina.

"Where's my son?" Regina demands.

"Henry? He called in and told me he was sick. I told him to take it easy and that I would bring the homework over later. He's not at your house?" I question.

"You think I'd be here if he was?!" Regina snaps, causing me to put my hands up in surrender. Directing her attention back at Mary, she continues, "Did you give him your credit card so he can find her?"

Regina pointed at Emma who was kinda awkwardly standing in the background. I nodded at her, with no expression on my face, before.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" I barely heard Mary ask the poor confused blonde.

I tuned them out because I already knew who she was. She is the woman who gave birth to Henry, I didn't really know what else I expected from Regina. She was always scared of losing Henry, but I wasn't really worried about her hurting him. I turned up my music as the song switched to 'I'll sleep when I'm dead' by Set it off. I close my eyes and try to think a happy thought.

*Flashback Start*

"You can't what?"

"…I-I can't… can't…"

"Can't what?"

"I can't write…."

*muffled snicker*

"Don't laugh! Peter! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

"Awe. Come on, don't be that way! Come back, Ches! I'm sorry!"

"Go away, Pan!"

"Awe. Come on… Pleeeeease…"

"…"

"…"

"…Fine…"

*thud*

"PETER PAN! GET OFF OF ME NOW!"

"No."

*sigh* "Alright fine, can we at least teleport to one of our treehouses? The ground isn't the best place to cuddle, Peter."

"Alrighty, Ches."

*Flashback End*

A loud thump sounded through the classroom, causing me to jolt out of my daydream. I took out my earbuds, and stood up. I could tell Regina had gotten upset and left, but not before knocking a stack of books over.

"Sorry to bother you." Emma said, bending down to help Mary.

I walked over and took the books from her hands. She smiled at me, as I straightened them.

"No it's… It's okay. I fear this is partially my fault." Mary replied kindly.

"How's the book supposed to help?" Blondie inquired, while I was walking back to my chair in the corner to get my black and white backpack.

"What do you think stories are for? These stories are classics. There's a reason we all know them. They're a way for us to deal with our world. A world that doesn't always make sense. See, Henry hasn't had the easiest life." Mary explained as they walked out of the classroom, with me jogging after them to catch up.

"Yeah, she's kind of a hard***." Blondie muttered the last word, since we were in a school.

"No, it's more than her. He's like any adopted child. He wrestles with that most basic question they all inevitably face – why would anyone give me away?" She stopped and looked over at me and Blondie, I just continued walking only this time with my head down. "…I am so sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean in any way to judge you." I heard Mary try to apologize.

"It's okay. What's wrong with her?" Blondie asked in a lower voice.

"I adopted her 4 years ago when she was found in the woods. She has always been this way, I guess she had to grow up quick." Mary response and I could feel their gazes staring into my back, before I turned the corner.

\- Mary's POV -

"Look, I gave the book to him because I wanted Henry to have the most important thing anyone can have. Hope. Believing in even the possibility of a happy ending is a very powerful thing." I explained to Henry's birth mother.

"You know where he is, don't you?" She asked smoothly.

"You might want to check his castle." I whispered leaning in.

_-*Flashback Start*-_

"_I can't have this baby now!" Snow White screeched, her voice strained and hoarse._

"_Doc, do something." Charming begged, as Snow squeezed his hand tight. "It's going to be okay. The wardrobe is almost finished, just hold on."_

_**-(Outside the castle)-**_

_Cheshire and Regina sit in a black fancy carriage, riding up to the castle. Regina looks out the window and smiles wickedly, while Cheshire sits across from her with a face of regret. She quickly vanished with a poof of blue smoke._

_**-(Inside the castle)-**_

"_It's ready." Geppetto announced as he ran into the room. Charming started to pick Snow up bridal style, however he was soon stopped by Doc._

"_It's too late. We can't move her."_

_***timeskip***_

"_The wardrobe… It only takes one." Snow said weakly looking down at Emma._

"_Then our plan has failed. At least we're together." Charming smiled weakly, trying to stay positive._

"_No. You have to take her. Take the baby to the wardrobe." Snow demanded._

"_Are you out of your mind?" Charming questioned, surprised._

"_No, it's the only way. You have to save her." Snow pleaded._

"_No, no, no. You don't know what you're saying." Charming tried to reason, only to be shut up by Snow._

"_No, I do. We have to believe that she'll come back for us. We have to give her her best chance." Snow insisted, begging Charming to just listen._

_Charming nodded, kissed Snow's forehead gently, and picked up Emma very carefully. He ran over to the door and grabbed his sword out of its scabbard. Two of the queen's guards lay outside the door with their necks snapped. He rounds to corner and sees Cheshire clutching her lightly bleeding arm. He quickly wields his sword, but lowers it. When he opens his mouth to speak, she holds up her bloodied hand and turns around before disappearing. He continues to the nursery room where the wardrobe is. He burst through the door and is soon followed by Cheshire who suddenly appeared. He rushed over to the wardrobe and put Emma in._

"_Find us…"_

_All of a sudden, he heard a sharp cry. He whipped around to find Cheshire run through her stomach, she snaps her fingers causing the 2 men's necks to snap at inhuman angles._

"_WATCH OUT!" Cheshire yells just before a 3__rd_ _knight stabbed Charming's chest._

_Cheshire crumpled to the ground before disappeared in a cloud of dark blue smoke. Just then, the 3__rd_ _knight checked the now empty wardrobe causing Charming to smile weakly knowing that his daughter had gotten away._

_***timeskip***_

_Snow weakly ran into the nursery, only to find a seemingly dead Prince Charming_

"_No, no! No! No! No! Please… Please come back to me." Snow pleaded crying, and kissing him over and over._

"_Oh, don't worry dear. In a few moments, you won't remember you knew him, let alone loved him." The Evil Queen sneered with victory._

"_Why are you doing this?" Snow questioned with a sorrow filled voice._

"_Because this is my happy ending." Regina replied with a smirk._

_Two of her guards ran in panting._

"_The child?" She asked._

"_Gone. It was in the wardrobe, and then it was gone. It's nowhere to be found." The guard said almost nervously._

"_Where is she?" Regina questioned Snow harshly._

"_She got away… You're going to lose. I know that now. Good will always win." Snow started softly, but ended in a strong voice._

"_We'll see about that." Regina scoffed. "and by the way you know your old friend Cheshire? Yeah, the one who 'betrayed' you. I was the one who framed her and now where is she?" She asked, looking at one of her guards._

"_Dead, she was stabbed through the stomach and her body disappeared in a cloud of dark blue smoke." The other guard responded, causing a look of realization and regret to cross over Snow's face._

_All of a sudden, a purple twister of smoke ripped the top of the roof off._

"_Where are we going?" Snow inquired in a scared voice, shouting to be heard._

"_Somewhere horrible. Absolutely horrible. A place where the only happy ending will be mine." Regina smiled with happiness, as a thick purple smoke surrounded them and filled the room._

_Meanwhile, Cheshire had transported herself to the woods outside and used the last of her energy to heal her stab wound before the curse overtook her body and she blacked out._

-*Present day*-

I walk down the street from Mary's, just heading to quickly check on Henry again before actually going to sleeping, when I hear talk coming from Granny's Inn, which was next to me. I checked the huge clock tower… which doesn't work, I totally knew that.

"Now, what's the name?" That's totally Granny.

"Swan. Emma Swan." Emma?

"Emma. What a lovely name." Rumpelstiltskin, or should I say ' '.

"Thanks." Emma said awkwardly.

_Wait, could this Emma be __the_ _Emma? Oh my god, that means that now Snow and Charming are the same age as their daughter because time is frozen here... That's just weird. _I got so caught up in my thoughts, that I suddenly jerked back to attention as I heard Granny say,

"Welcome to Storybrooke."

And for the first time in 28 years, the clock moved and for the first time in over 200 years, the pain in my side came back.


	4. The Thing You Love Most

Katrina's POV:

I pry my eyes open as I force myself out of another nightmare. This has been becoming routine since about two weeks ago and I've adjusted and gotten used to it by now. Staring for a moment at the sun which is just now rising outside my window, I take a deep breath and sit up. Stretching my arms over my head I can hear the popping of my back, and the stretching also happens to pull up my make-a-wish pajama shirt revealing a glimpse of the tattoo on my right side. Dropping my arms down and pulling up the hem of the tank top, I brace myself and look over at my left side, slightly choking on air when I see the all too familiar black maze that was once a network of healthy blood veins. Rubbing my face, I get up and strip, jumping in the shower which is in the bathroom connected to my room. I scrub my hair and body with my usual vanilla scented shampoo and conditioner and coconut scented body wash, respectively. I check the time only to see that I'm running late (Well at least, what I deem late). I quickly change into a dark blue flowing top, grey skinny jeans, and a black waist apron. I then grab my black shoulder bag and slip on a LOTR inspired ear piece.

I sit on and slide down the banister of the stairs, grabbing an peach and shoving it in my mouth. I throw down my skateboard and jump onto it, rolling down the street while I tie my braid up into a neat bun. Since it's about 6:30 am and no one else is there yet, I pull out my copy of the key and unlock the door to Granny's. I immediately turn on the stereo and plug in my phone, which starts to play 'Welcome to the Black Parade'. I decide to dance around and have some fun as I turn on the lights, the oven, and flip the sign on the front door to 'Open'.

I then turn around and hop over the kitchen counter heading straight for the giant fridge. I fling open the fridge and grab out milk and eggs, then twirling around the kitchen I collect flour, a bar of chocolate, butter, salt, yeast, and water. Clapping my hands together, I set about making chocolate croissants, and once everything is mixed and made, I roll out the dough and chop up some of the chocolate bar which is then used as a filling. Once those are in the oven, I set to work on making the other pastries that will be needed for throughout the day.

Sighing as my song playlist, I check my Batman watch and see that it was just turning 8, which is generally when Graham comes in. Ruby and Granny had both arrived at 7:30 and nodded in greeting. Granny had begun working on her famous pastries, ones that i could never hope to replicate, while Ruby wiped down the counters and tables. Almost on cue, the bell above the door jingles and I hear Graham's heavy footsteps soon followed by Henry's lighter ones. I smile and walk over to Graham, placing his usual scrambled eggs and coffee down in front of him. As I head to the corner booth that Henry is at I hear the bell jingle again and I look up to see who came in. _Emma? Huh, I guess the savior stuck around after all. _

"Hey, Henry." I say, smiling at him. I walk over to where he's sitting and crouch down. "What would you like on this fine morning?"

He leans in a bit and asks, "Can I have two hot chocolates with cinnamon and a chocolate donut?"

"Of course you can Henry." I reply before leaning in and whispering. "Is one of the hot cocoas for Emma over there?"

Henry smiles and nods, I stand up straight and walk behind the counter_, _I grab one mug and one to go cup. Filling both containers with hot chocolate, I sprinkle a bit of cinnamon in and mix it up. I swiftly spray whip cream on top of the hot cocoa mix, before grabbing a donut from the dessert dish and putting it in a paper bag. I grab the lunch bag that I always make for Henry in the morning and walk over to him. Holding Henry's to-go cup, lunch bag, and donut in one hand, I walk to Ruby and hand the cocoa mug to her as I go by.

"It's for the new girl from a 'secret admirer'." I whisper in her ear, rolling my eyes and smiling a little before continuing over to Henry.

Ruby nods at me, smirking, and walks over to give it to her. I hand Henry the food and his cocoa before listening as Ruby gives Emma the cocoa. I stroll back to behind the counter and begin to 'casually' wipe down the countertops that were already perfectly clean.

"Here ya go." Ruby says, placing the drink in front of Emma.

"Thank you, but I didn't order that." Emma replies looking confused.

"Yeah, I know. You have an admirer." Ruby says, winking.

Emma sighs and looks over at Graham. She gets up and walks over to him. And after my many years of difficult practice, I'm able to hear their conversation. _Haha, ah. I'm should go into comedy because dude it's an empty dinner, of course I can hear them._

"Ah, so you decided to stay." Graham speaks up smiling.

"Observant. Important for a cop." Emma counters sarcastically.

"It's good news for our tourist business, it's bad for our local signage." Graham says attempting to be funny, but when Emma just stares at him he tries to redeem himself by saying, "It's… It's a joke. It's because you ran over our sign."

I silently face palm from my position behind the counter, as Ruby covers her mouth laughing. Shaking my head, I walk into the kitchen and get ready for anyone else who might come in for breakfast as well as make myself some coffee

"Look, the cocoa was a nice gesture, and I am impressed that you guessed that I like cinnamon on my chocolate because most people don't, but I am not here to flirt. So thank you, but no thank you." Emma sasses, a hundred percent done with Graham.

Graham looks down at the mug in her hand and his eyebrows furrow as I smile, "I didn't send it." He says shrugging.

"I did. I like cinnamon, too." Henry spoke up from his corner seat.

"Don't you have school?" Emma questions.

"Duh. I'm ten. Walk me." Henry quips sliding out of the booth.

"Bye, Henry!" I shout peeking out from the kitchen, as he walks out.

"Bye, Kat!" He yells in response, waving.

I smile softly at the spot where he just was, knowing that if magic doesn't return soon that I'm going to die and I have to make the most of this life while I have it. Shaking it off, I sigh and lick my lips. _I knew this would happen one day._ I walk over to the fridge and begin preparing a breakfast for Granny, Ruby, and myself.

***timeskip to the afternoon***

The door to the cafe burst open violently and Henry rushed in, pulling a winded Mary behind him.

"Woah! Slow down, Henry and let Mary catch her breath." I say as he runs up to the counter.

"Emma's been arrested!" Henry yells at me as I grab a glass and fill it with water for Mary.

I smile at Mary as I had it to her and wipe my hands on my apron. Groaning, I look at Ruby who just does a little shooing motion with her hands as I nod a thanks at her.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" I ask as I take off my apron and shove it into my bag. "Let's go."

***At the police station***

"Henry, you go on in. I'm going to head back to the loft. Oh, and here." I take out my wallet and pull out two hundred dollar bills and hand them to Mary. "This should cover her bail and my half of the rent."

"I-I- Katrina, I can pa-." I cut her off by raising my hand to silence her.

"I only pay that half of the rent and bills, plus groceries every other month. It's not like I need it. Just, just don't tell her it was from me… okay?" I ask rubbing the back of my neck. _After all, I kinda owe her… It's my fault that we're here. Plus, at the rate that it's spreading I probably won't be around long enough to need it._

I nod towards the bench outside the station and speak up, "I'll wait here until you guys are ready to leave just in case I'm needed. Just text me when you guys are done and heading out of the station."

"Of course, Kitty Kat." I crack a smile at the old nickname and nod at her, tossing the keys back to her after popping the trunk. I grab my skateboard from the back of the car and sit down on the hard cold wooden bench.

***3****rd** **person***

After Emma's bail is paid, they walk out of the Police station and are halfway down the stairs when Emma sees Katrina riding away on her board.

"Why was she here?" Emma asks, looking down at the teacher.

"I took the car, so she came by to pick up her board." Mary lies smoothly. Emma, who knows that the woman is lying, glances at Henry who smiles with a look that says 'I'll tell you later'.

Emma just nods thoughtfully, pretending that she understands.

***Kat's POV***

A knock on the door of the loft that Mary and I share ring through the silent place. I look up at her, and notice that she is sewing at the table.

"Want me to get it?" I jerk my head towards the door, standing.

"No, I got it." Mary states smiling softly before standing and walking to the door.

The door opens to reveal the tall blonde who I've been seeing a lot of recently. I can't tell if that's good or bad yet. _I think it's... good since when she breaks the curse and then Rumple's deal with me is broken as well._

"Hey there. Just wanted to say thank you and, um, pay you back the bail money" Emma states awkwardly.

"You look like you need to talk." Mary gazes at Emma sympathetically.

Mary steps aside waving her in. I nod at Emma, my way of saying 'hello'. Mary goes over to the milk that I've been heating on the stove, and grabs a third mug from the cabinet above. She sets it down next to my 'peter pan never fails' mug, it's background is the dark forest from Neverland with the words 'Peter Pan Never Fails' in white. I made it myself, just like I made Mary's mug, which says 'Even in the morning, I'm the fairest of them all' in white over a apple red background. I thought it was fitting especially since she is Snow White after all. I put in my earbuds and half close my eyes, leaning my head back in my comfy brown arm chair, but not turning on any music as I pretend to totally not be eavesdropping and/or watching them.

"Cinnamon?" Emma questions looking at the cocoa.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I should've asked. It's a little quirk of mine. Do you mind?" Mary asks her shyly.

"Not at all. Now, when you bailed me out, you said that you trusted me. Why?" Emma inquires.

"Well, it was actually Kat that bailed you out." Mary says in a low voice, nodding in my direction with her head. Emma glances over at me shocked.

"So wait, little Miss. Frozen Heart bailed me out?" _That title actually belongs to Anna._

"Yeah, she looked kinda guilty when she handed me the money, too. Liked she owed you something. But, don't tell her I told you, she doesn't like to show that she actually has emotions." Mary jokes. "And I had no objections, it's strange. Ever since you arrived here, I've had the oddest feeling like we met before. And, I know it's crazy." _I figured Mary would tell her, man that woman can't keep secrets for crap._

"I'm starting to re-evaluate my definition of crazy." Emma snorts.

"For what it's worth, I think you're innocent." Mary offers.

"Of breaking and entering, or just in general?" Emma asks sarcastically.

"Whichever makes you feel better." Mary quips.

"It doesn't really matter what anyone thinks I did or didn't do. I'm leaving. Thank you – for everything – but I think it's for the best. If I stay, Henry's only going to keep getting hurt." Emma states looking down. _No! She can't leave, that would ruin everything! Ugh, I know that I'm not supposed to interfere, but what the hell I can urge her to stay. Besides, if she leaves it will break Henry's heart._

"What happens if you go?! I think the very reason that you want to leave, is why you have to stay. You care about him. Who else, besides me, will protect Henry if you won't?" I demand angrily as I stand, ignoring their shocked looks before blasting my music through my earbuds and going upstairs.

Hopefully she stays, if not… I'm dead. And so is everyone else in this god forsaken town.


	5. Snow Falls

**Its been a full year since I have updated so I'm here with ten pages of crap, so... hope you like it.**

_ Cheshire sighed as she leaned against the tree trunk of an old willow, the hanging branches covering her just enough for her to be hidden unless being looked for. Closing her eyes, she could hear as Snow scrambled up the oak by the tree they had cut down not long ago. There was a clopping of horse hooves and her eyes flew open as she quickly transformed into an eagle with a blue tint to its feathers and glided out of the tree. The shapeshifter perched herself in a tree and watched as their target rolled to a stop at the base of the tree._

_ "What do you think of the view, my dear?" Prince James asked Abigail._

_ "I've seen better. This is taking forever. I told you the Troll Road would've been quicker. And far less bumpy. Are you even listening to me?" Abigail responded arrogantly, looking out the window._

_ "Yes, of course I am." James replied._

_ "Whoa, Whoa!" The driver says as the carriage lurched to a stop._

_ "Now what?" Abigail asked._

_ James leaned out of the carriage, and looked at the path ahead._

_ "Worry not – it's but a fallen tree. Fellas? Shall we?"_

_James stepped out of the carriage and walked up to the tree. Cheshire nodded at Snow who quickly jumped onto the top of the carriage. Ches observed as Prince James looked closely at the base of the tree._

_ "My Lord? What Is it?" One of the guards asked._

_ "These markings." James started, drawing his sword. "This tree didn't fall – it's been cut. It's an ambush."_

_Snow quickly jumps down and takes the bag of jewels that James left in the carriage. Princess Abigail let out a scream and James quickly rushed back._

_ "Sir!" The guards yelled as a blue tinted hawk swooped down above James's head._

_ "Guards! Stop, thief! Help me!" Abigail's screeches were loud as they managed to dull even the guard's yells._

_James jumped onto a brown horse and immediately pursued the thief and hawk, which was now flying ahead. When he caught up to Snow, he tackled her to the ground. Ches landed on a nearby branch ready to step in if needed._

_ "Show your face, you coward! You're…" James paused as he pulled the hood of Snow's head. "a girl."_

_ "Woman." Snow interjected, slamming a rock into the side of his head._

_ Snow quickly jumped up and rode off, the blue hawk flying not far behind._

_ "You can't hide from me! Wherever you are, I will find you!" James yelled as Snow rode, she turned and smiled as if to say 'I dare you'._

_-_*present day*-

I lean back and sigh as I watch as the kids run around, Mary had decided to bring her class to the hospital and so, I'm helping out. I watch as Henry starts to reach out to touch our "John Doe's" face. I clear my throat sharply, which makes Mary look over at me. Tilting my head towards Henry, she gets the message and walks over to him.

"Henry. We could really use your help with the decorations." Mary says softly.

"Is Mr. Doe going to be okay, Miss Blanchard?" Henry asks, concerned. _With Emma in town, no doubt he'll wake up soon._

"His name's not John Doe, honey. That's just what they call people when they don't know who they are." Mary replies a bit of humor in her voice.

"Do you know who he is?" Henry questions. _I do and you do, too Henry._

"Nope. Just bring him flowers on my rounds." Mary responds, looking at the John Doe kindly. _You do know him, Snow! Ugh this is sooooo frustrating._

"What's wrong with him?" The questions continue on, and I sigh again bored already. _Give him a break, Henry, he's supposed to be dead._

"I don't know. He's been like this as long as I've been volunteering." _Okay, this is now too boring for even me. _I tune out of the rest of the conversation, uninterested. Watching the other kids, I laugh in my head as one of the girls tries to hang a banner. She stands on her tippy toes and jumps up and down trying to get the wire on the hook.

"Hey, Grace." I say as I walk up to her, flashing her a rare smile. I grab the wire, putting my hand on her shoulder so that she stops jumping, and hang up the banner. She smiles up at me and her blond hair bounces. She smiles at me and fiddles with the necklace I gave her. It is filled with golden fairy dust (not like she knows that now...), an exact replica of the one I got for Snow, only this one had good fairy dust. It was sealed shut, so she couldn't use it except in the case of emergency and ONLY after magic returns to the land. I still remember giving Snow that necklace.

-_The Enchanted Forest-_

_ "This is for me? Dark Fairy dust, right?" Snow asked holding up the necklace Cheshire had just given her._

_ "Yes but careful, that is only to be used in the most dangerous situations." Cheshire warned, swirling her fingers as the bottle's seal glowed blue. "It will now only open to your touch, but be cautious it can even change you into the smallest insect, not to mention that it's very rare. But, who knows you may need it someday. I'll scout ahead, you know how to call me." Cheshire, or Ches as Snow called her no matter how much Cheshire hated it, continued as she turned into an robin and flew out of the shelter._

_Snow immediately started to throw her clothes and necessities into a bag, however as she walked out of the hut she was caught in a net. Prince James came out of his hiding, and began to laugh at the sight of Snow struggling in the net. She glared down at him through the net's mesh, before shifting and moving around._

_ "I told you I'd find you. No matter what you do, I will always find you." James reminded her._

_ "Is this the only way you can catch a woman? By entrapping her?" Snow bit back as she shifted around looking for her knife._

_ "It's the only way to catch thieving scum." James replied glaring at her._

_Snow gave up and looked down at the man below her with a sarcastic smile, "Aren't you a real 'prince charming'?"_

_ "I have a name, you know." The prince said as he rolled his eyes._

_ "Don't care. Charming suits you. Now cut me down, Charming." Snow commanded in a strict tone._

_ "I'll release you, when you return the leather pouch you stole with my jewels." Prince 'Charming' declared._

_ "Not the jewelry type." Snow stated bluntly, shaking her head._

_ "Indeed. I noticed." Charming replied looking her up and down._

_Her face turned to one of anger, hurt, and slight confusion. "What is that supposed to mean? Are you insulting me?"_

_ "No, quite right. My apologies. How dare I cast aspersions at the person who robbed me?," He mocked before his tone changed from sarcastic to serious. "Where are my jewels?"_

_ "I sold them." She answered, dragging out each word._

_ "What?" He barked._

_ "What do you care? Don't you have a palace full of treasures somewhere?" Snow huffed._

_ "These were special. Among them was a ring that belonged to my mother. A ring I was about to give-"_

_ "The nag with the bad attitude? That's what this is about?" Snow interrupted, sounding fed up._

_ "She's my fiancée." Charming replied, almost reluctantly._

_ "Good luck with that. You must be getting something impressive to have agreed to that union." She chuckled._

_ "Excuse me?" Charming inquired, actually sounding offended._

_ "I know how this works. True love? It doesn't exist. It's all arranged marriages and business transactions. There's no such thing as love at first sight or first kiss. Let me guess – her kingdom wants to take over yours and this is, what, a last ditch effort to avoid war?" She scoffed._

_ "This is not a takeover. It's a merger, and quite frankly, it's none of your business. Now, this is what's going to happen." Charming started to command as Snow rested her head on the net, with her eyes closed._

_ "Mmhmm?" She hummed._

_ "I'm going to cut you down and you will take me to whoever has my jewels and then, you're going to get my ring back." He continued, taking charge._

_ "Mm-mm. Why would I do that?" She refused as she shook her head like a little kid._

_ "Because you don't want me to tell anyone who you really are." Charming stated, the whole scene turning serious. _

_He, then reached inside his jacket and pulled out her wanted poster._

_ "Snow White." He paused. "Help me get my ring back, or I turn you over to the Queen's forces. And I have a feeling the Queen's not as 'charming' as I am." He humored._

_ "Well," Snow sighed in defeat. "I wouldn't want to stand in the way of you getting true love."_

_Charming smiles, pulls out his sword and cuts the rope letting Snow fall. Above their heads, a blue robin was circling and watching the male's every movement._

_-{Present day after Snow found out that John Doe ran away}-_

_Katrina's POV_

_But mama I'm in love with a criminal,_

_And this type of love isn't rational, it's physical._

_Mama please don't cry, I will be alright,_

_All reason aside I just can't deny, love or die._

My phone's ringtone blasts through the silence of the empty flat, and I pry my eyes open. Recently, I've started having more flashbacks mixed in with my nightmares, ranging from my time in Wonderland to just before the curse took over the Enchanted Forest. _Anyways, phone call, right._ I blindly fumble for my phone on the bedside table, and finally find it answering the loud obnoxious device.

"What?" I groan.

"Well, good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Mary teases.

"According to Henry, Sleeping Beauty is still in the Enchanted Forest. Guess again." I mutter, tired and upset that someone dare interrupt my 'beauty' sleep.

"Look, Kat, something serious has come up. John Doe is missing." My eyes snap wide open as I jump up.

"Meet you at the hospital in 5 minutes." I state, before hanging up the phone and getting dressed in a red flannel, black skinny jeans, my warmest jacket, and my tan combat boots. I grab my small black backpack and throw in a scarf, a hat, a pair of gloves, and a flashlight. Twirling my ring, I hop on my skateboard and ride to the hospital as quick as I can.

-{At the Hospital}-

When I get to the security room, I see Grumpy (Leroy) and Sleepy (Walter) sitting at the hospital monitor desk. _Well, this was a useless trip. We have the drunk and the narcoleptic on security._ I walk up to the computer catching the end of Graham's sentence.

" -unusual you saw during your trip with your class?" He questions.

" I don't think so." Mary replies, looking confused.

"We're looking at the wrong tape. This is the ward where Henry's class put up decorations. If this was really the tape from last night, we'd see the banners the kids hung." Emma says, pointing at the date and time on the screen. I squint and see tapes lining the wall, so I stroll over and start looking for the real tape

"Tch, you fell asleep again." Leroy scoffs angrily._*Insert eye roll here* Bad, Leroy. Be nice._

"You selling me out?" Walter questions, sounding offended.

"I ain't getting fired for this." He hisses.

"At least I don't drink on the job." Walter quickly retaliates.

"Gentlemen, enough. Where's the real tape?" Graham interrupts.

"Here." I speak up grabbing the correct tape and flashing the cover at him. Ignoring the questioning, I slip around the group of people and put the tape in. Everyone quiets down as we watch as David gets up and walks out the side door.

"He walked out alone. He's okay." Mary sighs, relieved.

"Four hours ago. Where does this door lead?" Emma points out.

"Well, I wouldn't hold your breath Mary, that door leads to the woods." I say before groaning and walking out of the room, going to get Henry.

-{The Enchanted Forest}-

_ "I thought you weren't the jewelry type. What's that around your neck?" Charming asked, gesturing to the fairy dust necklace._

_ "Don't worry about it." Snow snapped at him sharply. '_Where is Ches?' _She thought, looking up at the tree branches above them._

_ "Careful! It's a weapon!" She exclaimed when Charming ripped the necklace from her neck. _

_ "Dust? What kind of weapon is dust?" Charming criticized as he holds it away from her._

_ "Fairy dust." Snow snapped, as she jumped forward trying to get it back._

_ "I thought that was a good thing?" Charming stated, a questionable look on his face._

_ "When it comes from a good fairy. This stuff? It's deadly. It transforms the most fearsome of adversaries into a form that's easily squashed." She answered, reaching for it again._

_ "Then why didn't you use it on me?" He inquired, as he stuffs it into his vest._

_ "Cause you're not worth it. It's very hard to come by. I'm saving it for a special someone." Snow declared walking away from him._

_ "Ah, the Queen. You got a lot of anger there, don't you, Snow?" _

_ "The charges on her posters are lies. It didn't stop her from sending her huntsman to rip out my heart."_

_ "What happened?" _

_ "Well, not everyone is a soulless royal. He took pity on me and let me go. I've been hiding in the forest ever since. Trying to amass enough fortune to leave this place. Escape to another realm. Somewhere isolated. Where I can never be hurt." Snow's voice sounded distant as she imagined the words she spoke._

_ "Sounds lonely." He quipped._

_ "No lonelier than an arranged marriage." An icy tone snapped back into her voice as she came to reality._

_ "At least I don't pray on the innocent." Charming defended, getting angry._

_ "Up until now, I've only ever stolen from the Queen. I thought your carriage was one of hers. No one else ever uses that road." She bit back defensively._

_ "I took the scenic route."_

_ "Lucky me..."_

_The two walked in an awkward silence until they broke the forest line. They began to walk on the rocks, carefully and slowly._

_ "Look here, Charming, all I'm doing is what it takes to survive. She wants me dead." _

_ "So, what did you do to incur that much wrath?"_

_ "She blames me for ruining her life."_

_ "Did you?"_

_ "Yes."_

_A loud screech came from above the two as a blue hawk circled around them before heading towards the water. Snow inwardly smiled, knowing that Cheshire was watching. The ex-princess turned slightly and started on the dirt path that lead to the nearby river. The pair was silent as they approached the river that flowed smoothly through the shallow rocky area. Snow looked up and watched as Cheshire soared across the water towards them._

_ "I'm thirsty. May I?" Snow asks as she gestures to the water._

_ "Sure, let's just make this quick." The prince replies as he takes off his bag and walks over to the river._

_Snow takes a couple sips of water before standing as quietly as possible and creeping towards Prince Charming. She is about to pick up a heavy branch when a hawk's screech comes from above and Cheshire dives at the prince. Charming turns around sharply and falls backwards into the water, hitting his head on a small rock. Cheshire quickly shifts into her human form and takes off running towards the forest. Snow soon following as soon as she grabbed a pouch from the male idiot's bag. The duo ran through the forest until they came upon the road. Snow White bent over breathing heavily and laughing a bit as Cheshire just panted slightly. Three of the queen's guards rode up on horses and surround the pair._

_ "Huh. Look who we found." The guard in front of them spoke up as he stepped off his horse._

_ "There's nowhere to hide. The Queen wants your heart," The guard taunted as he drew his dagger. "And we're not going to disappoint her." _

-{StoryBrooke}-

I follow close behind Henry as he rushes up the hill ahead.

"Come on, Kat!" He yells back at me.

I groan and pick up my pace. This is one of the times I wish I could still teleport. Henry just makes it over the tip of the hill when I hear Mary exclaim,

"Henry!"

I groan, knowing I'm going to get yelled at for bringing him out here, and jog over the group before going to stand behind Henry as he begins to speak.

"Have you found him yet?" Henry asks with urgency.

"No, we haven't. You shouldn't be out here." Emma states firmly.

"But Kat came with me and she's out here all the time. Besides I can help, I know where he's going." He defends.

"And where's that?" Mary questions him, sounding sincerely confused.

"He's looking for you."

-{The Enchanted Forest}-

_Snow grunted as her back is slammed against a tree, while Cheshire struggled to get free from the hold of the guard behind her. The guard with the dagger smiles as he approaches the princess._

_ "Hold her still." He says as he raises his dagger ready to stab the woman in front of him._

_His moment is interrupted by the surprised cry of the guard that once held a girl but suddenly held nothing but air. Then just as the guard with the dagger turned to kill Snow in anger, a knife flew out from the trees and buried itself into his back. Charming sat crouched on the hill for only a moment after the knife had hit it's mark before running down it and meeting the guard that had been holding Snow in battle. The only other guard jumped on his horse and rode up behind Snow who had gone for the empty horse only a few yards away. He snached her up, throwing her infront of him just as Charming knocked the second guard to the ground. He quickly looked around for something to stop them, only to find nothing. However, blue eyes stared down at him from the tree next to him and a bow along with a quiver full of blue feathered arrows appeared on the saddle next to him. He took a double take when he saw them but quickly payed no mind, as he grabbed the bow and a single arrow running through the trees after the pair. Cheshire smiled to herself, as she thought '_I know that Rumple told me not to interfere, but a little assistance couldn't hurt'._ With that her body began to disappear until it left only her smile, and then that too faded away. Meanwhile, Charming chased the horse until he got a clear shot and aimed the bow. As he panted, he trailed the guard with his arrow and then he released the arrow. As it flew, blue mist swirled around it, helping guide the arrow to its mark. The last guard was throw off his horse by the force of the arrow, leaving Snow to slow the horse on her own._

_ "Are you alright?" The Prince asked, panting heavily._

_ "You- You saved me." Snow replied, shocked and panting heavily as well._

_ "Seemed like the honorable thing to do." Charming nodded, causing Snow face to soften a bit. "Are you ready?"_

_ "For what?" Snow inquired, slightly confused and also slightly… hopeful?_

_ "My jewels." He deadpanned, snapping Snow out of her trance._  
_ "Right. You've got a wedding to get to." She said, more to herself then him. Getting down to business she continued, "The trolls I sold them to are just beyond the next ridge. We need to be careful."_

_ "Aren't they just little people?" The Prince questioned, confused._

_ "You're thinking of dwarves." Snow laughed a little before offering advice. "Show a little respect. They'll cut your hand off sooner than they'll shake it."_

_As Snow grabbed the horse's reins, Charming waved for her to go and said, "Well, let's get this over with."_

_Snow grit her teeth before saying, " Yes, we've both got places to be. So let's go."_

_They turned and began to walk back to the other horses._

_ "You have your lonely little corner of solitude to find." Charming spoke up._

_ "And you have an annoying ringless fiancee to appease." Snow bit back._

-{StoryBrooke}-

Dragging my feet slightly, I turn on my flashlight and begin to shine it up the hills just checking for anything of use. I have no idea where Henry is taking us, there are too many places that Snow and Charming have met. Emma, Mary and Henry all stopped as they listened to Henry's yelling. I walked past them so I was walking alongside Graham now. I have done my time, it's their turn now. I looked down the path that we were on and spotted a blue band on a fern bush. Shining my flashlight onto it, I ran to it and crouched down. Graham followed and he yelled out to the others.

"Guys!"

The three ran to catch up and Mary sounds scared and concerned as she asks,

"Is that-"

"Blood." Emma answers.

"Well, shit." I mutter, under my breath.

-{The Enchanted Forest}-

_In hawk form, Cheshire circled above the troll's bridge as Snow used the dark fairy's dust on the trolls that held Charming._

_ "You… You saved me." Charming spoke up, surprised._

_ "It's the honorable thing to do." Snow replied with a smile, copying what he said earlier. _

_ "What about your special someone?" The Prince asked, looking at the empty vial in her hand._

_ "I'll think of something else." Snow sighed sadly as she tossed the empty necklace to the side._

_ "Thank you." _

_ "Anyway, how could I let Prince Charming die?" She joked, helping him reload everything into his bag. _

_ "I told you - I have a name." He said, smiling a little. "It's James."_

_ "It's nice to meet you, James." She paused, holding her hand out. Once they shook hands, she continued. "We should go. There may be more of them coming." _

_With that, the two of them wandered into the forest, once James had grabbed the gold again, of course. _

-{StoryBrooke}-

A howl echoes through the dark forest as we approach the old toll bridge near the edge of town. Graham jogs ahead and stops at the water. I shine my flashlight behind us and stare at the wolf that stalks behind us, from the clear side of the path into the bushes on the other side.

"Where is he? Can you see him?" Mary calls out desperately, shining over the creek with her flashlight.

"The trail dies at the water line." Graham responses, sounding disheartened.

I turn around to face Emma just as Mary throws her flashlight to the side and rushes forward.

"Oh, my god! Oh, my god!" She keeps repeating the phrase as she rushes over to whom I can only assume is James.

He is laying on his side, still in his hospital gown, and soaking wet.

"I need an ambulance! At the Old Toll Bridge, as soon as possible!" Graham yells into his radio as he rushes to help Mary.

"Emma, keep Henry back. If John Doe isn't breathing, I don't want him to see." I quickly spit out before running through the thin water and grabbing James under his shoulders, letting Graham get his feet.

Mary scrambles alongside us in a panic, touching his forehead and brushing hair off his face. When we manage to get him back to shore, Henry breaks free of Emma's hold and rushes towards us. I quickly stand and grab him, covering his face and blocking him from seeing James. He thrashes harshly until I firmly grab his arms and whisper,

"Stay still, Henry, if he's dead, I don't want you to see that."

He suddenly stills and looks up at me with tears in his eyes.

"Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?"

"I don't know, buddy, I don't know. Go back to Emma and I'll check on him, okay?" I whisper quickly, causing Henry to nod sharply and rush back to Emma.

Turning back around, I lean down and hold a finger under James' nose and feeling nothing I begin to panic.

"He's not breathing Mary." I whisper, looking down at James so i don't have to see her face.

"Come back to us!" Mary yells, leaning down and listening for a heartbeat. "Come back to me."

Desperately, she begins to do CPR, harshly pushing down on his chest. Then as she began to give him breaths, he jolts up a little and turns to the side coughing up water.

"You saved me." The words leak from his mouth, sounding scratchy.

"She did it. She did it. She woke him up." I hear Henry say from behind me.

"Yeah kid, she did." Emma mumbles in disbelief.

"Thank you." James continues, his voice but a whisper.

"Who are you?" Mary questions him, softly.

"I don't know." He answered looking up into her eyes.

"That's okay," Mary reassures as she cradles his head. "You're going to be okay."

I look up as I hear sirens begin to wail in the distance and get up, heading towards them.

_Okay is a relative term._

-To the Hospital-

I watch with my arms around Henry as David is hooked up to morphine and a heartbeat monitor.

"David?" I turn and see a blonde woman push open on of the doors to the room.

_Wait, is that? No. Are you fucking kidding me? This was going to be hard enough without the brat here._

"David? Is that you?" She approaches his bed only to be stopped by the doctor.

"Ma'am, who are you? Ma'am you can't be in this room. Please, can you stand back here for now?"

"Who is that?" Mary questions, staring at the woman, almost sounding jealous.

"His wife." Regina speaks up from behind us, a small smirk gracing her face.

_Fuck you, Regina, fuck you and your little smirk…._

-The Enchanted Forest-

_After walking for a while, the two come to a stop. _

_ "So…" Charming starts as he turns around. "Oh, You probably want this."_

_He reaches into his shirt and pulls out Snow's bag of gold._

_ "Right, the gold. Thank you." She said, grabbing the pouch and fastening it to her belt._

_ "And um, you can't get married without this." Snow replied, handing Charming the pouch with the engagement ring in it._

_Shaking the pouch till the ring is on the lid, he grabbed it and looks at it in the sun._

_ "I know, not your style." He said, gesturing to the ring._

_ "Well, there's only one way to find out." Snow said as she grabbed the ring and slid it on her own hand._

_Snow held her hand out and studied the ring. A wave of calm swept over her, even as she's shocked about how comfortable and normal it feels on her hand. Charming simply stands there, looking at the lost princess in front of him in awe and admiration. _

_ "Yeah, not me at all. But I'm sure your fiancee will love it." Snow said, breaking the silence and handing the ring back to him._

_ "Yeah," Charming replied, chuckling nervously, "Yeah, if you need more, you can have the rest. The ring is all I require." _

_ "Oh, no. I'm good, thanks. We both got what we wanted." Snow patted the coins at her side._

_ "Well, wherever you're going be careful. If... If you need anything-" Charming started._

_ "You'll find me." Snow interuptted._

_ "Always."_

-Present day-

A sudden sharp pain ran up my side and I doubled over from it.

"Kat?! Are you okay?" I hear Mary say from behind me as she rushes to help me stand.

"Yeah…" I pause taking a couple breaths. "Yeah, i just got a sudden stitch in my side. I- I'm gonna go home, tell me how it goes."

"Do you need a ride? " I hear Emma pitch in.

"No, I'll be fine." I state as I hurry to the door. "A walk will do me good. See you at home, Mary."

I don't give her time to respond before I am out the door. I instantly fall to my hands and knees upon reaching the outside and throw up whatever I ate for dinner that evening. Groaning, I stand straight and creep my way home.

I kick the front door shut behind me and climb the stairs to my bed above the rest of the loft. Sighing in relief as I make contact with the covers, I curl up in my comforter and fall into a nightmare filled sleep.


	6. The Price of Gold - Part 1

As the clock tower's bell rings, I drop the cup of coffee I was holding and double over in pain, flames flaring up under my skin. _Oh no, Its getting worse. I won't be able to hide it eventually. Hopefully it spreads down faster than up. _Ruby rushes over to me,

"Oh my god! Kat! Are you okay? What's wrong?" Her volume causes me to cringe as she draws the attention of everyone in the diner.

"It's nothing." I whisper. "Just that time of the month, but twice the pain."

Realization fills her eyes and she groans in sympathy,

"Oh, hun. That sounds awful. Why don't you head home and I'll cover your shift today? It doesn't seem like it will be too busy anyways."

"Thank you so much Ruby," I sigh. "I owe you one."

"You sure do." She says with a sly wink.

Rolling my eyes, I grab my board and bag, take off my apron and begin to walk back to Mary's.

**-Later that night-**

I look up from my cutting board as Emma enters the loft.

"Hey." I mutter as I go back to slicing my loaf of bread.

"Your things arrived." Mary chirps as she gestures to the few boxes that had shown up early that day.

"Oh, cool. Thanks. Hey, Kat, I noticed you weren't at the diner today. You feelin' okay? Or did you not have a shift?" Emma questions as she strides over to her boxes.

"Upset stomach," Is all I say before popping the bread in the toaster and grabbing some plates for Mary to put the eggs on. _Breakfast for a late lunch is always the best._

Plopping down next to the cardboard boxes, she begins to root through her stuff and organize what would go where in her new room. Shoveling some scrambled eggs and bacon on the plates, i plop some jelly on the toast and spread it before adding it to the plate. Smiling at me, Mary grabs Emma's plate and her own and goes to set them on table before reconsidering and handing Emma's plate to her.

"I'm so glad my stuff is here." Emma says as she takes the plate from Mary. "Oh, thanks"

"So, that's all your stuff?" Mary questions, causing me to snort. As she turns to glare at me, I fake a cough to try and disguise my amusement. _Oh Mary, if only you remembered. We used to travel far lighter than that._

"What do you mean?" Emma replies, sounding slightly confused and thanks to me, a bit offended.

"Is the rest in storage?" Mary chirps.

"No, this is all of it. I'm... not sentimental." _Clearly, that's like 5 boxes._

"Well, it makes it easy to move then, huh?" Mary pushes again, try to make light of the situation.

Shaking my head at her sad attempts to lighten the mood, I walk to the dining table and sit down to eat, facing the door. Shoving my earbuds in, I sigh from the comforting feeling they bring. I love music, don't get me wrong, but you'd also be amazed by what people will say around someone with headphones. I'm just about to pick a song when a knock comes from the door and I instantly grip my knife tighter, silverware or not, I could still defend and kill with it. _Crap, I'm still doing this stuff. I need to stop… Although I mean, after doing this for 400 years or so, it's not exactly possible to break the habit. As long as no one touches me when I'm asleep then we'll be fine._

"Miss Blanchard. Is Miss Swan here?" I hear and see Rump- Mr. Gold… at the door. _God, you'd think after 5 years, i'd know to call him Mr. Gold by now. _

Emma steps up to the door and shakes Mr. Gold's outstretched hand.

"Hi, my name's Mr. Gold. We met briefly on your arrival."

"I remember."

"Good. I have a proposition for you, Miss Swan. I, uh… I need your help. I'm looking for someone."

"Really? Um…" Emma trails off looking back and forth between Mary and Gold, trying to hint at the fact that Mary should leave.

Luckily, she gets the hint, "You know what? I'm going to go jump in- in the bath."

Emma also glances at me, but I have my head down pointed at my plate and I'm tapping my foot to the beat of a non-existent song so their conversation continues.

"I have a photo. Her name is Ashley Boyd. And she's taken something quite valuable of mine." Rumple states as he walks into the apartment and wanders over to the leftover tea on the other end of the kitchen table.

_Ashley? Isn't she pregnant? Why and how did she manage to steal anything from Mr. Gold?_

"So, why don't you just go to the police?" Emma asks, shutting the door and following him closer to me. That's when I pretend to just notice that we have a visitor and look up.

He nods in my direction with a slight smile on his face, but the smile disappears as the conversation resumes.

"She's a confused young woman. She's pregnant. Alone and scared. I don't want to ruin this young girl's life. I just want my property returned."

"What is it?" Emma inquires.

"Well, one of the advantages of you not being the police is discretion. Let's just say it's a precious object and leave it at that." Gold says, looking around before his eyes land on me. That's when I pretend to just notice that we have a visitor and look up.

"Oh, hey Gold." I mutter looking up for only a second and giving a simple wave.

He nods in my direction with a slight smile on his face, but the smile disappears as the conversation resumes.

"When'd you see her last?" Emma begins

"Last night. That's how I got this." Rumple pulls his hair back, I'm assuming to show a cut or bruise but I can't see it from my position.

"It's so unlike her. She was quite wound up. Rambling on and on about changing her life. I have no idea what got into her." Gold sounds heartbroken as he tells the story and if I didn't know him better, I'd say he is. "Miss Swan, please help me find her. My only other choice is the police, and I don't think anyone wants to see that baby born in jail now, do they?"

Emma's face immediately changes from bored and unimpressed to disbelief, slight panic, and concern. Crossing her arms across her chest, she replies, "No, of course not."

_Soft spot. Oh my god. Huge tender heart wound. But how does she rel-... No, she didn't. Did she- Did she give birth to Henry in prison?! That is the only reason she would react so suddenly, not to mention the fact that she instantly crossed her arms; which is one of the most common defense mechanisms. _

I stare at Emma in slight disbelief, tuning out the rest of the conversation in order to think clearly. It was obvious that Emma was going to help Gold. He had hit her weak spot whether or not he had meant to, is what I need to find out. Unfortunately, I don't get long to think because the door opens suddenly and Henry walks in.

"Hey, Emma. I was thinking we-" Henry starts, before seeing Rumple- Mr. Gold. _Ughhhhh. I seriously need to work on that._

Henry freezes and the air around him seems to fill with suspicion.

"Hey, Henry. How are you?" Rumple asks, admittedly a bit awkward.

"Okay?" Henry replies, cautious as if Mr. Gold will bite.

"Good. Give my regards to your mother. Goodbye, Katrina." Cue small wave from me. "And, um, good luck, Miss Swan." With that, Rumple walks past Henry and shuts the door behind him. Pulling my earbuds out, I can finally hear everything clearly.

"Do you know who that is?" Henry asks, rushing over to Emma and I, as she goes back to the boxes to my left.

"Yeah, course I do." She says, not realizing he means who he is in reality. _Although I guess my reality is her fantasy world._

"Who? Cause I'm still trying to figure it out." He questions, looking confused.

"I put my money on him being Rumplestiltskin. I mean it makes sense, he owns a pawn shop where you can trade for things. Like the story, the miller's daughter traded her gold ring, necklace, and firstborn for him to spin her three rooms full of straw into gold." I chip in, looking up and smiling at him.

I pass him Mary's plate of bacon and eggs, since Mary went to take a bath and won't be out till her food is way past cooled.

"Henry, what are you doing here?" Emma interrupts.

"My mom's gone til five. I thought we could hang out." He chirps, looking back to Emma. _Ouch, looks like I'm going to have to sit in the backset from here on out. Henry is going to want to do everything with Emma and I don't blame him, she's his mother. But it still hurts, especially because I'm not close to anyone else in town who isn't working and I've been here for him far longer than she has. But whatever, if I can deal with fighting a gorgon then I can deal with sharing Henry at least until the "infection" gets closer to my heart._

"I wish I could, kid, but there is something I have to do." Emma apologizes, grabbing her keys and coat before walking to the front door; Henry trailing behind like a lost puppy.

"Okay. Don't mind me, I'll just be here. Not like I wanted to go help find Cinderella anyways…" I mumble, speaking to the empty room around me.

**_-The Enchanted Forest-_**

_A bright and joyful smile was stuck on Cinderella's face as she stared at the amazing fireworks in front of her. Blue bursts of color burst in the clear night sky and the sparks trickled into nothingness. The princess laughed lightly to herself as she thought back to before. Consumed by awe and her own mind, she failed to notice Prince Thomas approaching her. With watery eyes, she stood next to him until he looked over and saw her face._

"_What's wrong?" He asked lightly, concerned._

"_Nothing," She replies with a blissful and peace-filled smile. "Every year when I was growing up, I used to watch these fireworks from afar. And I knew what they meant – something special was happening at the palace. Now, they're for me. For our wedding."_

_Ella's voice was filled with nothing but love as she said those words, reaching forward and kissing her prince sweetly._

**_-Timeskip to the ball-_**

_As Prince Thomas and Princess Ella made their way down the stairs, the guests cheered, whistled, and shout their congratulations. A smile stretched onto the couple's faces when they saw Princess Snow, Prince Charming, the Cheshire Cat and Thomas' father ahead. _

"_I'm so happy you could come." Ella said, hugging Snow tightly. _

_Thomas hugged his father and shook hands with Charming. A respectable nod and smile was all they got from the assassin in dark blue. Cheshire was unhappy because once again she had to dress up for a wedding. Luckily, they had let her pick the dress this time but at the price of surrendering her bow and arrows for the night. She couldn't complain though because they had let her keep her various knives. The band began to play and ladies were soon after swept up by gentlemen to dance. Cheshire simply stood off to the side, she had a bad feeling about this because it's only when a spark of light is seen that dark rushes to stamp it out. Ella however danced cheerfully with her father-in-law._

"_My dear Ella. We're thrilled to have you join our family. And I hope our family will soon be growing." Thomas' father laughed as Ella blushed and looked away towards her groom. The men bowed a final time and the tempo of the music changed. Then, with a whirlwind of fabrics, the women's partners began to change. Prince Charming, or James, was her next partner and he simled softly as he spoke._

"_Congratulations, Ella. You two are going to be very happy." _

"_Why, thank you, James." _

_Partners changed again and now Ella was dancing with her new groom. Snow saw Ella and politely broke away from her dance partner to steal Ella away and dance. _

"_Sorry!" Snow apologized to Thomas, as he waved it off. "This is truly a night for celebration. Do you realize what inspiration you are to everyone?"_

"_All I did was get married." Ella replied, humbly._

"_All you did, was show that anyone can change her life. I'm proud of you." Snow stated wholeheartedly before spinning Ella off to her next partner. Except her next partner was closer than she thought and she bumped into them. The partner, Rumplestiltskin, was able to steady her however and push her into continuing with the pace of the dance. _

"_I'm proud of you, too." He said, mocking Snow's earlier words._

"_You. What are you doing here?" Ella's voice filled with venom._

_Across the ballroom, Cheshire feels Rumple's presence appear and instantly starts towards the dancing floor._

"_I just wanted to make sure you were happy with your end of the bargain. You know – true love, riches, happy endings. Did you get everything you desired?" Rumple smirked as he caught Cheshire's eye._

"_Yes, yes I did. Now, what do you want? What's your price? My jewels? The ring?" _

"_No, no dear. Keep your baubles. What I want is something you don't yet possess, but something I know is coming. Your first born." Rumple stated, grinning widely._

"_Rumple-." A hand lands harshly on the man's shoulder but when Cheshire pulls him away for Ella, she sees only the Duke of South Arlington._

"_I'm sorry, sir." Cheshire states, backing away upon seeing the confused and offended look on the Duke's face._

"_I thought… you were someone else. Forgive me."_


End file.
